Job polarisation: Capturing the effects of work organisation

This article critically challenges the findings and assumptions of mainstream job polarisation literature. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey data and on the Job Demand-Control model, which allows for capturing the organisational dimension of jobs, we examine the patterns and evolution of occupations in 22 European countries from 2005 to 2015. Instead of pervasive job polarisation, we observe a near-pervasive trend of upgrading job quality, suggesting that job polarisation may be caused by the undervaluation/devaluation of jobs low in the occupational hierarchy – not by computerisation-driven changes in work tasks. Indeed, only the former can explain the decrease in the number of low-quality jobs while the number of low-paid jobs increases. After documenting the relevance of firm-level organisational choices, we suggest that counteracting job polarisation requires, beyond meso-level collective bargaining, a public intervention that promotes participatory decision-making in firms. JEL Codes: J2, J81, M540

Are we ready? Labour market transit to the digital economy

Industrialised countries are currently facing the knowledge-to-digital economy transition. That transition is strictly defined by how the labour market is organised and operates in the national economy. Some old to new phenomena are determinants of those dimensions, such as educational mismatch, credential inflation, and job polarisation. These phenomena affect the relationship between schooling and earnings, carrying consequences for social mobility, household welfare, and an individual's social progression perspective. Those phenomena remain understudied in the context of Latin America. Chile's case has gained relevance in the region due to the highly deregulated organisation of its educational market, the quality increase in its higher education institutions, and its funding policies for higher education. This work attempts to provide an extended diagnosis of the Chilean labour market, considering the impact of these emerging issues on the educational market and policymaking. The results show that 83.6% of Chilean employees experience an educational mismatch (overeducation and undereducation); credential inflation has depreciated the value of education over five of the six occupational categories – besides the polarisation index for industrialised countries such as the United Kingdom.

Automation and Labour in India: Policy Implications of Job Polarisation pre and post COVID-19 crisis

Advancements in ICTs have heightened the potential of such technology to automate jobs and render labour redundant en masse, uniting the concerns of sociologists, policy makers, and economists alike. Realistically, however, concern revolves not around redundancy of labour, but the polarising effect automation exerts on jobs. This polarisation stems from the claim that automation 'hollows out' mid-skill jobs, thereby increasing demand for high- and low- skill jobs. Job polarisation widens wage disparity, lowers the aggregate skill level of labour and exacerbates existing social inequalities. Proponents of laissez-faire automation argue that while automation may exert adverse effects on labour in the short run, it is bound to realise higher net benefits and employment in the long run. Such an understanding which is based on the Schumpterian notion of creative destruction is predicated on the fact that firms would adopt only such technology which bring about substantial strides in productivity. However, world over and in India firms have been merely substituting labour with capital, without any greater efficiency gains. This trend is only set to worsen with the ongoing health crisis due to varied reasons. In such a situation, it becomes imperative to design novel methods of social security.

Automation and Labour in India: Policy Implications of Job Polarisation pre and post COVID-19 crisis

Advancements in ICTs have heightened the potential of such technology to automate jobs and render labour redundant en masse, uniting the concerns of sociologists, policy makers, and economists alike. Realistically, however, concern revolves not around redundancy of labour, but the polarising effect automation exerts on jobs. This polarisation stems from the claim that automation 'hollows out' mid-skill jobs, thereby increasing demand for high- and low- skill jobs. Job polarisation widens wage disparity, lowers the aggregate skill level of labour and exacerbates existing social inequalities. Proponents of laissez-faire automation argue that while automation may exert adverse effects on labour in the short run, it is bound to realise higher net benefits and employment in the long run. Such an understanding which is based on the Schumpterian notion of creative destruction is predicated on the fact that firms would adopt only such technology which bring about substantial strides in productivity. However, world over and in India firms have been merely substituting labour with capital, without any greater efficiency gains. This trend is only set to worsen with the ongoing health crisis due to varied reasons. In such a situation, it becomes imperative to design novel methods of social security.